


Keep A Light On For Me

by chileancarmenere



Series: Wishing In The Dark [4]
Category: Dragon Age
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-05
Updated: 2012-01-05
Packaged: 2017-10-28 23:31:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/313376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chileancarmenere/pseuds/chileancarmenere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabela and Merrill infiltrate Danarius' estate to see if they can find Fenris. However, they're already too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep A Light On For Me

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics at the beginning are from Beautiful And Lost by Ron Pope.

_Spinning harder now you seem confused_

 _I close my eyes but I'm still watching you_

 _If you're broken I will gather up your pieces from the filthy ground_

 

The _Siren’s Call II_ docked in Minrathous three days later. They found an inn without much difficulty, close to shore where Isabela could keep an eye on her ship. When she checked with the innkeeper, he told her that Danarius had an estate in the Circle quadrant.

“Stay with the ship,” Isabela told Caprus, strapping a few extra small knives on in strategic locations. “I’m just going to go have a peek around. Merrill, do you want to come?”

“What are we doing?”

“Casing the joint.” She picked up her spyglass and thrust it into her belt. “Magic could come in handy.”

As they walked from the dockside quadrant, the filthy streets and begging urchins disappeared, to be replaced with the opulent wealth of the Circle quadrant. Isabela thought that she could pinch half-a-dozen things just walking along and never be spotted for it. When Danarius’ estate came into view, her breath caught in her chest. The estate was vast; it looked almost impenetrable. The bigger it is, the more cracks it’s bound to have, she reminded herself.

“It’s all walled,” Merrill said. “We won’t be able to find a way in.”

“All I want right now is to have a look at the lay of the place.” Isabela started walking along the wall. Automatically, she assessed it. She _could_ climb it; but judging from the dozen surly guards hanging over the top, she wouldn’t make it to the top.

As it happened, they were in luck. The back of the estate was not fenced, but sloped down to a river. They sat down to wait, and when it got darker, swam across the river. Isabela smiled at the thought of Danarius believing that a river would protect him. _You’ll have to work harder than that to keep out a pirate._

They snuck around a nondescript shed and crept along the inside of the wall, keeping an eye out for guards. She made use of all her stealth techniques, padding silently in the shadows with her weapons drawn so they didn’t rattle in their sheaths.

“Look!” Merrill breathed in her ear, pointing at a large arched window set in the second story. “I think it’s a dining room.”

Isabela dove into a nearby bush, pulling Merrill with her. She pulled out her spyglass, peering up at the golden light.

“You seem very good at this sneaking and spying thing,” Merrill observed.

“Voyeurism is one of my kinks.” Through the spyglass, she could clearly see the room. Yes - that was Danarius at the head of the table. She itched to be able to throw a knife in his smug, smiling face. Arrayed around the table were several old men in mages’ robes that she assumed were other magisters, and Fenris’ sister, the redheaded mage in training.

She caught a blur of white at the edge of the spyglass, and refocused. It was Fenris.

His armor was gone; instead he was outfitted in a simple black shirt and breeches. As he walked around the table, he served each magister from a bottle of red wine in his hand.

 _This is the final bottle of Aggregio Pavalli. He raised it in a half salute to her._

 _I’m sure I could find a contact for some more._

 _I wouldn’t say no. He passed it to her._

 _She took a long draught from it. Well, you know that it’s the only reason I keep coming round here. That and the sex._

“Do you see him?”

She passed the spyglass to Merrill. “Careful.”

Merrill put it to her eye. “Oh!” She sucked in her breath. “Isabela! Did you see?”

“What?”

“The tattoos. They’ve changed!”

“What?” she repeated disbelievingly. Merrill passed her the spyglass again, and she scanned him frantically. The two lines that normally traced his chin to his bottom lip were gone. Instead, the tattoos crept up his cheeks into a half-spiral. “What does it mean?” she hissed, keeping her eyes on him.

Merrill didn’t reply. She didn’t have to.

Danarius motioned to Fenris, saying something that she couldn’t make out. Fenris strode to his master’s side, head still bowed. The magister reached up and pinched Fenris’ cheek, making a quip that had the rest of the dinner guests laughing. He addressed something to Fenris that made him look up at last. Isabela bit her lip till it was bloody. His forest-green eyes were curiously blank. Danarius had removed all that he was.

Danarius picked up his glass between dainty fingers and offered it to Fenris, asking for a refill. Fenris lowered his head again and poured. Another magister at the table spoke, waving his arms in an expansive gesture. Danarius’ face tightened, and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the glass of wine in Fenris’ face. The elf staggered back, surprise flitting across his face before he closed off again. Danarius was on his feet, shouting at Fenris, who cringed back; the magister pointed to the wine on the floor, his gestures demanding. For a moment, Fenris remained frozen, and then he knelt, putting his face to the floor and lapping up the spilt wine.

Isabela slammed the spyglass back together with unwarranted force. “I’ve seen what I need to.” Wisely, Merrill didn’t interrupt, and together they snuck back out of the estate to the inn. As they passed by the bar, the innkeeper hailed them. “Oi! Someone was here to see you, he’s waiting in the common room.”

Curious, Isabela ventured into the darkened room. A shadowy, pointy-eared figure at the window turned round to meet her. “Ah, Isabela my dear. I heard a curious rumor that you had run to Tevinter after a handsome elf. Care to tell me if it is true?”


End file.
